Palace: Almost 42,000 people in Visayas, Mindanao affected by 'Pablo'

A Palace official pegged the number of individuals affected by Typhoon Pablo so far at nearly 42,000, largely from regions 8,10,11 and 13. “A total of 8,283 families and that translates to 41,608 persons,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a briefing Tuesday. Typhoon Pablo entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility at 6 p.m. Sunday and made landfall in Davao Oriental before 5 a.m. Tuesday. Valte added that there are 3,406 stranded passengers in the country's ports due to Pablo. “Hinihingi lang po natin yung kanilang pasensiya doon sa ating mga stranded na passengers dahil mas minamabuti po natin na hindi po payagan ang paglalayag para hindi po tayo magkaroon ng  hindi naasahang aksidente,” Valte also said. Valte likewise reiterated President Benigno Aquino’s earlier reminders to residents in Pablo’s track to heed advisories from authorities, even without apparent storm conditions. “May mga nagre-report po na kahit may public storm warning signal po sa kanilang lugar ay  maaraw naman daw po at hindi naman po umuulan. For the information of the public, ang Pagasa po kasi  nagtataas ng PSWS [public storm warning signal] in advance, meron po iyang lead time,” Valte said. She added that because of this lead time, residents will have ample opportunity to prepare themselves, and should therefore not ignore the warnings. “Kapag nagtaas po ng signal number 1, meron po kayong parang 36 hours na lead time para makapaghanda po tayo. Let us not be complacent, let us keep our guard up at nandiyan po iyong lead time precisely to allow us to make sure that our preparations will hold,” Valte said. Earlier PAGASA said Typhoon Pablo may bring rainfall of 15 to 30 mm per hour (heavy to intense) within its 600-km diameter.   It also advised residents in low-lying and mountainous areas under storm signals to be alert against possible flash floods and landslides. — BM, GMA News